The Social Life of Cities

A new programme for city leaders Pr o s p e c t u s , S u m m e r 2 0 1 2

This prospectus invites city governments to join an ambitious new collaboration to improve the way that urban developments connect with residents and with communities. Our aspiration is to accelerate urban innovation and reshape the way that city leaders and urban planners think about creating and shaping thriving and sustainable places.

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Introduction The Social Life of Cities is a new collaboration between Cisco, the Young Foundation, and its new venture Social Life. The Social Life of Cities will work at the intersection of urban design, social design and technology design to develop and test new policy, investment, and urban innovation models that can make cities more successful. The initiative offers city partners: • an opportunity to tackle some of their most pressing local problems by building a practical understanding of how their city-wide strategies for economic, cultural, technological and social development connect to the local experience

Jodhpur, Rajasthan, India

• access to an international network that will generate high profile and agenda-setting new thinking

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We are seeking city partners that: • aspire to focus on quality of life and quality of place • wish to explore how the quality of place and community is forged at the intersection of technology, social design and urban design • offer explicit endorsement of the project’s intent and focus from their highest level of leadership, including Mayors and city leaders • value strong input from community organisations, entrepreneurs and innovators in the creation of new communities • aim to shift thinking, policy and practice at the highest levels of city governance and amongst individual players in the placemaking process including architects, designers, and property developers.

• the chance to shape a tailored project drawing on Cisco’s insight into connectivity and networking, and Social Life and the Young Foundation’s in depth knowledge of social sustainability, placemaking, service design and urban innovation. We are inviting a select cohort to be among the first five cities to become founding partners. The Social Life of Cities founding partners will bring a willingness to explore different ways of doing things, reflecting their commitment to innovation. 3

Who we are

Social Life is a new venture set up by the Young Foundation to accelerate innovation in placemaking. We are a centre of excellence in social sustainability, working with built environment professionals to understand and test different ways of putting people at the centre of urban development.

LACMA, Los Angeles

The Young Foundation brings together insights, innovation and entrepreneurship to meet social needs. We work across the UK and internationally – carrying out research, influencing policy, creating new organisations and supporting others to do the same, often with imaginative uses of new technology. We have over 60 staff, working on over 40 ventures at any one time, with staff in New York and Paris as well as London and Birmingham in the UK.

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Cisco has shaped the future of the Internet by creating unprecedented value and opportunity for customers, employees, investors and ecosystem partners to become the worldwide leader in networking - transforming how people connect, communicate and collaborate. 5

Project overview For the past two years, Social Life, the Young Foundation and Cisco have been exploring the social sustainability of cities and communities. We have been thinking about how we can improve our practical understanding of the link between citywide placemaking programmes and the experience of people living in local neighbourhoods. Too many programmes – from urban regeneration, to “smart” cities and the development of new housing settlements - fail because they do not pay sufficient attention to the complex needs of the people who will be at the sharp end of change.

East End, London

Our conversations have been based on the Young Foundation’s track record of driving social innovation in the UK and internationally, and work on social sustainability, now being taken forward by the new Young Foundation venture Social Life; and on Cisco’s contribution to urban innovation under the “connected urban development” and “smart+connected” programmes. Out of these we are now launching a three year practically focused research and action project.

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Our objectives are to: • create a new urban innovators network, bringing together a group of city leaders interested in accelerating urban innovation • convene a group of leading global thinkers to shape the initiative, and to inform and learn from our emerging thinking and practice • collaborate with city agencies and their partners, across sectors, to design and implement tailored projects that bring together technology, urban and social design to improve the lives of their residents • learn quickly, test and measure the impact of our local projects, document and share our results • create an influential body of thinking that changes the practice of urban design, improving the way technology is used in creative ways to improve the social life of cities. The Social Life of Cities is a blend of research, thought leadership and action learning through practical projects in partner cities. Our intention is to explore what works, what fails (and why) and to draw out insights from cities and communities that can be transferred to other places and contexts.

Objective 1

Objective 2

Objective 3

Objective 4

Objective 5

Work with city leaders to create a new urban innovators network

Convene the best global thinkers

Collaborate across sectors, design tailored projects in local areas

Learn, test & measure impact, document & share results

Create new & influential body of thinking that changes the practice of urban design

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Advisory panel To inform our work we are convening some of the world’s leading thinkers about urban innovation to provide advice and guidance. Their input will enrich the collaboration and give partner cities access to their networks and knowledge.

Our initial advisory panel members will be: Dan Hill, Strategic Design Lead, SITRA, Helsinki and Adjunct Professor, Faculty of Architecture, University of Technology, Sydney Geoff Mulgan, Chief Executive NESTA and former Chief Executive, Young Foundation Professor Sir Peter Hall, Bartlett Professor of Planning and Regeneration at The Bartlett, University College London

Market in Nicaragua

Professor Ricky Burdett, Professor of Urban Studies, London School of Economics and Political Science, Director, LSE Cities and Urban Age and Global Distinguished Professor, New York University

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Professor Saskia Sassen, Robert S. Lynd Professor of Sociology, Columbia University, Co-Chair Committee on Global Thought, Columbia University The list will be augmented with further members in coming months.

1. Manhattan, New York

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The Social Life of Cities: Structure The programme has three key elements:

The urban innovators network

Creating a new body of thought & practice

Tailored local projects with individual cities

Tailored local pilots We will collaborate with city partners to carry out practical projects crafted to meet the need of each city, and to enable stakeholders to think differently about tackling social problems and placemaking. Our aim is to stimulate “creative disruption” – using social design tools to co-create practical, local innovation projects and pilots. Each city partner will receive 25 days of project development and advisory support from Cisco, the Young Foundation and Social Life, to co-design and co-produce a tailored local project. The work programme will be flexible and tailored to local priorities but is likely to include: • scoping work with city leaders to identify a local focus for the work • social design and action learning/workshop sessions • rapid prototyping – support to identify, refine and develop ideas including advice on technology and network design

Seoul, South Korea

The urban innovators network

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We will convene networks of city partners to create opportunities to think differently about urban innovation and social cities. This will offer engagement with global experts (on urbanism, innovation and sustainability) and other cities through virtual networking, TelePresences, and events including an Urban Innovation Camp.

• ongoing support and critique.

Creating an influential body of thought and practice Capturing the lessons from our work with individual cities and the urban innovators network, we will develop and document our experience. This will give individual city partners the offer to shape new research and policy directions. 11

The offer to cities We are looking for five cities to become founding partners in the Social Life of Cities. A further five will be recruited in 2013. The programme offers city partners: • an opportunity to build a practical understanding of how macro city-wide strategies for economic, cultural, technological and social development connect to the experience of local communities • a testing ground for new ways of working which will generate valuable lessons for the wider area • the opportunity to make a step change in their practice and policies and tackle some of their most pressing problems • international profile as leaders in urban innovation

Broadway Market, London

• engagement with global experts (on urbanism, social design, innovation and sustainability) and other cities through virtual networking, TelePresences, and events

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• association with a leading network that will showcase the work of the collaborative and of individual city partners.

2. Giant Chess, Leeds, UK

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What we ask from cities The Social Life of Cities partner cities must be committed to exploring new thinking and practice that improves the human and social dimension of their cities. This could be evidenced in a number of ways, including past practice and track record, evidence of priority investment in past projects or clear statements of intent and policy direction by key city leaders – or, of course, a combination of all three. Participating cities need to subscribe to the ideas and intent of the project and be prepared to make an active contribution, not only to support initiatives in their own jurisdiction, but to share their ideas and experience with others.

We ask that cities: • make a clear commitment from the most senior levels of city leadership in support of the city’s participation in the project

• give projects emerging from the collaboration, including those that are led by non-government organisations or individuals, appropriate recognition, visibility and support. Social Life of Cities initiatives may be led by stakeholders outside municipal government, however they should all be recognised and valued by the formal structures and power and authority in the city. City leaders need to be open to learning from what emerges about placemaking and the social dimension of successful communities. Timing will be adjusted to meet the needs of different cities, but we would hope to complete the practical projects for the first five city partners by Summer 2013. Initial discussions are taking place with Chicago, Seoul, Rio de Janeiro, London, Malmö and Sydney. Other cities with which discussions are starting include New York, Toronto, Vancouver, Melbourne, Adelaide, New Delhi, Bangalore, Brisbane, Helsinki, and Manchester.

Oslo, Norway

• invest a minimum of £20,000 as a direct contribution to the tailored work in their city. This funding could come from the public or private sectors or from Foundations

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• ensure good access to relevant information and people within the city administration to assist in the design, delivery and assessment of the project

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Next steps We will be delighted to discuss possibilities with interested partners. To take this forward, cities will need to: • confirm their willingness to discuss participation in the Social Life of Cities on the basis of the programme of work set out in this prospectus • identify a small group of people, including representatives from the city administration as well as from outside government, who will be able to agree a specific initiative or group of initiatives that will form the basis of their participation in the collaboration

Manhattan Housing, New York

• enter into detailed negotiations to finalise the shape and scope of the their participation.

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3. Stratford, London

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For more information contact: Nicola Bacon or Saffron Woodcraft at Social Life: [email protected] [email protected] www.social-life.co

Cover images: Front cover: LACMA, Los Angeles by Social Life Introduction: Jodhpur, Rajasthan, India by Mr Jon Ardem Esq. (FlickR) Who we are: LACMA, Los Angeles by Social Life Project overview: East End, London by Jon Spencer Advisory panel: Market in Nicaragua by Nick Caistor The social life of cities: Seoul, South Korea by Social Life

Martin Stewart-Weeks or Relina Bulchandani at Cisco:

The offer to cities: Broadway Market, London, by Lucia Caistor-Arendar

[email protected]

What we ask from cities: Oslo, Norway by Social Life

[email protected]

Next steps: Manhattan Housing, New York by Lucia Caistor-Arendar www.cisco.com

Other images: 1. Manhattan, New York by Lucia Caistor-Arendar 2. Giant Chess, Leeds, UK by Noii’s (FlickR) 3. Stratford, London by Social Life 4. Paris Riverfront

4. Paris Riverfront by Social Life 5. Pier 45, New York by Ed Yourdon (FlickR)

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5. Pier 45, New York

Prospectus designed by Lucia Caistor-Arendar 20

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